NCAAF

8:00 AM ET Anthony OlivieriESPN.com WHEN DAN LANNING walks out onto the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where his Oregon Ducks will face Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, it’ll be hard to forget from where he came: a $1,200-a-month job under Nick Saban just seven years ago. Lanning remembers the eyebrows that were raised when

7:57 AM ET Top-ranked Alabama kicks off its campaign Saturday as one of the biggest preseason national title favorites of the past 20 years. The Crimson Tide are around +180 to win the College Football Playoff at sportsbooks around the nation. Since 2001, only USC (+160) in 2005 and Alabama (+175) in 2018 had better

7:00 AM ET ATHENS, Ga. — One day this summer, Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett knocked on an apartment door, wearing a mock U.S. Postal Service uniform. He handed a package to a woman who answered the door. “Hey, here you go,” Bennett told her. “This place is nice.” “Excuse me, why is Stetson Bennett actually

1:30 AM ET PITTSBURGH — Finally, blessedly, the Backyard Brawl returned to college football on Thursday night. Fans saw a game to tell their grandkids about, but were also reminded of the emotion, hatred and yes — profanity-laced chants — that go hand-in-hand with this lost rivalry. Eleven years separated the most recent matchup between

11:46 PM ET ESPN News Services STILLWATER, Okla. — Spencer Sanders passed for a career-high 406 yards and accounted for six touchdowns as No. 12 Oklahoma State beat Central Michigan 58-44 on Thursday night to give Mike Gundy his 150th coaching victory. Sanders matched a career high with four touchdown passes and set a career

5:52 PM ET Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. — Upon further review, South Carolina’s live, crowing mascot will go back to his old name, “Sir Big Spur.” The school announced the rooster’s status Thursday, just three days after choosing “The General” as a new name due to a dispute between the old and new owners. But

4:58 PM ET Pete ThamelESPN Kansas has extended the contract of football coach Lance Leipold by a year, sources told ESPN. Leipold’s first season was highlighted by a win at Texas, as the Jayhawks went 2-10 and showed tangible signs of progress. Leipold was hired in late April 2021, taking over one of the most

7:30 AM ET ESPN staff After an offseason filled with coaching feuds and conference realignment, the first full slate of college football is here. The Week 1 schedule is filled with top matchups, from the defending champions going against their former defensive coordinator to a top-five showdown in Columbus, Ohio. The Backyard Brawl is officially

7:00 AM ET DAVE WANNSTEDT NEEDED his team to do some studying. The Pitt football coach was leading the 4-7 Panthers into the 2007 edition of the Backyard Brawl against No. 2 West Virginia in Morgantown as a 28.5-point underdog. But he wasn’t concerned with showing his players blitzes or screen passes. Instead, he showed

9:54 PM ET Pete Thamel Heather Dinich Close ESPN Senior Writer College football reporter Joined ESPN.com in 2007 Graduate of Indiana University The College Football Playoff’s board of managers will hold a virtual meeting on Friday that could accelerate playoff expansion as early as 2024 if the 11 presidents and chancellors who comprise the sport’s

4:58 PM ET Andrea Adelson Close ESPN Senior Writer ACC reporter. Joined ESPN.com in 2010. Graduate of the University of Florida. David M. Hale Close ESPN Staff Writer ACC reporter. Joined ESPN in 2012. Graduate of the University of Delaware. After an offseason filled with questions about the future of the Atlantic Coast Conference, commissioner

6:43 PM ET Vanderbilt freshmen Daniel Martin and Maurice Edwards are no longer with the program and are expected to enter the transfer portal. Commodores coach Clark Lea didn’t specify the reason for the players’ departures, but said in a statement that it’s his responsibility to ensure “a strong ecosystem” exists around the program. Neither

2:54 PM ET Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida A&M’s football team, which considered not traveling for its season opener at North Carolina last week, is openly questioning the level of financial and compliance support players are receiving from the university. Nearly 90 players penned a blistering letter to school president Larry Robinson on Sunday,

7:30 AM ET Week Zero and the Bottom 10 are a marriage made in confusing, loser heaven. Just where did Nebraska land after their Big Ten opening loss to Northwestern? And where do the annual Bottom 10 powerhouses rank in the preseason standings? Inspirational thought of the week: I can’t say that I’m sorryFor the

7:00 AM ET College football is back, and talkin’ season is over. But boy, what a season of discontent it was. USC and UCLA set off another round of cataclysmic realignment discussions, announcing the plan to leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten a year after Texas and Oklahoma declared their intentions to leave the

7:00 AM ET RALEIGH, N.C. — Ruffin McNeill steels himself before walking through the door to see his father. He has no idea whether it’s a good day or a bad day for “Pops,” but he will know soon enough. McNeill enters the nursing care facility in Lumberton, North Carolina, about an hour and a

6:02 PM ET ESPN News Services Jackson State football coach Deion Sanders on Tuesday said in an Instagram video that his program and players are now “in crisis mode” when it comes to grappling with the multiple water problems that have afflicted Mississippi’s capital city in the past week. Parts of Jackson were without running

4:57 PM ET Associated Press LINCOLN, Neb. — Embattled Nebraska coach Scott Frost said Tuesday there is no tension between him and new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple following the Cornhuskers’ season-opening loss to Northwestern in Ireland. Frost, 15-30 over five seasons, said in his remarks minutes after the 31-28 loss that the Huskers need to